World War II:
The Home Front
Essential Questions
• How did America initially respond to the events leading
to WWII?
• How did the war change the American home front, both culturally
and socially?
• How did the war transform the U.S. economy both immediately and
in the long term?
• How did the war affect minority groups during the period?
• What effect did the war have on American industry?
• How did the war unify America in a common purpose?
Most importantly: How Authoritarian was the government during
WWII?
“The Arsenal of Democracy”
• America “officially neutral”
as European war began
• FDR increased military
production and skirted
Neutrality Acts after Nazi
victories
• FDR ran for third term
• Lend-Lease Act passed
• U.S. embargoed oil and
scrap-iron sales to Japan
The Election of 1940
In this map of electoral results, FDR is indicated in
green, Willkie in red
• FDR won
unprecedented
third term
• Defeated Willkie
• Both candidates
considered
“internationalists”
FDR’s “Four Freedoms”
• FDR’s 1941 State of
the Union address
• Early in his third term
• Equated aid to Britain
with protecting
universal freedoms
An excerpt from the speech
From the “Four Freedoms”
Speech
“In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a
world founded upon four essential human freedoms.
The first is freedom of speech and expression—everywhere in the world.
The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his way—
everywhere in the world.
The third is freedom from want—which, translated into world terms,
means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a
healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants—everywhere in the world.
The fourth is freedom from fear—which, translated into world terms,
means a worldwide reduction of armaments to such a point and in
such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit
an act of physical aggression against any neighbor—anywhere in
the world.”
Selective Service Act of 1940
FDR signs the Selective Service Act into law
• First peacetime
draft in U.S.
• All men aged
21–35 required
to register; later
18–65
• Required men
picked for duty to
serve 12 months
• Service in the U.S.
or its possessions
Discussion Questions
1. What steps did FDR take toward making the
U.S. the “Arsenal of Democracy”?
2. What was the America First Committee? Who
were some of its more famous members? Why
did it disband?
3. How did FDR explain the need to provide aid to
Britain in his “Four Freedoms” speech? Why do
you think that FDR took this approach?
Pearl Harbor
• December 7, 1941
• Carrier-based Japanese
planes bombed naval
base at Pearl Harbor,
Hawaii
• More than 2400
Americans killed
• U.S. Pacific fleet
temporarily crippled
The USS Arizona burns during the
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor:
The Nature of the Attack
Japanese aerial view of
Pearl Harbor under attack
• Japanese intended to knock
out U.S. military power
• Aircraft carriers followed
less detectable northern
route
• U.S. officials knew of a
coming attack, but not at
Pearl Harbor
• Not meant to be a
“sneak attack”
FDR’s War Message
• Delivered to Congress
on December 8, 1941
• Only one member of
Congress voted
against declaring war
• Germany declared
war on the U.S. a
few days later
FDR signs the
declaration of war with Japan
FDR’s War Message:
A Significant Change
• FDR changed the first
line, which included
the phrase, “a date
which will live in
world history”
• FDR’s reading copy
found after 43 years
FDR’s annotated draft copy
of his speech
U-Boats in the Western Atlantic
A German U-boat
• Operation Paukenschlag
• East Coast essentially
undefended
• U-boats sank over 500 ships
in the U.S. defense zone,
July–December 1942
• U.S. 10th Fleet fought against
U-boats in western Atlantic
• Sank 65 U-boats in six
months
Japanese Balloon Bombs
• Carried anti-personnel and
incendiary bombs
• Floated to the West Coast
• Killed six picnickers in
Oregon in 1945
A balloon bomb
Civil Defense
• Fears of attack by Axis
Powers on U.S. mainland
• Office of Civilian Defense
• Civil Air Patrol and Civil
Defense Corps
• Performed various
protective services
The WWII-era Civil Defense logo
The War Powers Act
• Gave the president sweeping powers to conduct
the war
• President allowed to initiate and terminate
war contracts
• Government agencies set for wartime priorities
• Foreign assets also frozen
• Censorship allowed, though media generally
censored themselves
Discussion Questions
1. What were the immediate effects on the U.S. of
the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor?
2. What were some ways in which the Germans
and Japanese tried to directly attack the U.S.?
3. What did the War Powers Act give FDR the
authority to do in conducting the war?
Men and Women Support the
War Effort
Service Flags
• Commonly displayed
throughout U.S.
• A blue star indicated a
relative on active duty
• A gold star meant that
a relative had died
while on active duty
• Blue Star (and Gold
Star) Mothers clubs
A Service Flag with three stars
New Recruits
• Over 60,000 enlisted
immediately after Pearl Harbor
• Military training facilities
overwhelmed
• Not enough barracks or
materiel
• Recruits processed, then sent
to basic training
• Recruits broke down cultural
and class barriers
Recruits arriving at the naval
training center in San Diego
Basic Training
• Designed to build
strength and stamina
• Obstacle courses,
forced marches,
marksmanship
• Instilled a strong sense
of discipline
Army recruits practice calisthenics at
Camp Robinson, Arkansas, in 1942
Marshall and Mobilization
• Army underfunded
and underdeveloped in
late 1930s
• Marshall became
Army Chief of Staff
• Convinced FDR and
Congress to provide
increased manpower
and funding
General George C. Marshall
Women in the War Effort
• Took over many jobs for
servicemen, most notably
in heavy industry
• Some joined the military
• Altered family life
A poster urging women to
take manufacturing jobs to
help the war effort
Women in the Workforce
• Women were
encouraged to work in
defense plants
• Others grew Victory
Gardens and helped
with recycling for the
war effort
• Generally earned less
than male workers
Factory workers polish Plexiglas nose
cones for A-20 attack bombers
“Rosie the Riveter”
• A symbol of working
women during the war
• Based on factory worker
Rose Will Monroe
• Miller and Rockwell
both created iconic
“Rosie” images
This poster for the Westinghouse
Corporation is frequently associated
with “Rosie the Riveter”
The Women’s Army Corps
WAC Director Col. Oveta Culp Hobby
(right) confers with WAC members at
Mitchell Field, NY
• Marshall noted
British success in using
women for noncombat
duties
• Congress created
Women’s Auxiliary
Army Corps in 1942
• WAAC later renamed
“Women’s Army Corps”
WAVEs
• “Women Accepted
for Voluntary
Emergency Service”
• Navy program similar
to WACs
• Did not serve overseas
• Nurses, clerical work,
communications jobs
A WAVES recruitment poster explaining
the pay scale for members
WASPs
Four WASPs receive final instructions
as they chart a cross-country course
• “Women’s Airforce
Service Pilots”
• Aviators Cochran
and Love proposed
idea separately
• Performed noncombat
flight duties
• Freed male pilots for
combat missions
Discussion Questions
1. What role did General George C. Marshall play in
mobilizing the armed forces early in the war?
2. How did women contribute to the U.S. war effort?
Gov’t Direction and Activity
on the Homefront
Office of War Information
• Established in 1942
• Coordinated release of
war news
• Promoted patriotism
• Tried to recruit women
into factory work
• Propaganda program
abroad
• The Voice of America
Patch worn by Office or War
Information personnel
Wartime Propaganda Posters
Government propagandists sometimes used fear and racial slurs
in order to convey their message
1940s Movies
A scene depicting the Nazi
propaganda machine, from one of
Frank Capra’s Why We Fight films
• Feature films included war
themes
• Nazis and Japanese portrayed as
buffoons or villains
• Patriotism also a common theme
• Characters such as Sherlock
Holmes and Tarzan battled Nazis
• Documentaries by Capra and
Wyler also popular
Mobilization of Industry
• “Dr. Win the War” replaced
“Dr. New Deal”
• Many civilian industries
converted to war production
• Manpower needed for
defense plants
• Scarce goods rationed and
price controls established
• Disputes between management
and labor to resolve
Workers assembling an aircraft
“A Production Miracle”
• Axis Powers
underestimated
American production
• Many factories and
businesses converted to
war production
• New industries
emerged
• Output significantly
increased
Liberty Ships
The SS Carlos Carrillo, a Liberty ship later
made into a troop carrier
• Usually cargo ships
• Developed by
Henry Kaiser
• Featured welded hulls
• Many sections
prefabricated
• By 1943, three
entered service daily
Ford’s Willow Run Facility
• Built B-24 “Liberator”
bombers
• World’s largest factory
under one roof
• Produced 14 aircraft
per day in August 1944
Workers at the Willow Run facility
assemble B-24 bombers, 1943
Discussion Questions
1. What was the purpose of the Office of War
Information? How did it accomplish this?
2. How did the film industry contribute to the war
effort in the 1940s? What were some significant
productions?
3. What techniques did Henry Kaiser introduce to
dramatically increase production of Liberty
ships?
War Production Board
• Ensured that the military
had the resources it
needed
• Directed industrial
output
• Prohibited nonessential
business activities
• Allocated raw materiel
• Organized scrap drives
A “War Educational Bulletin” produced by
the War Production Board
Scrap Drives
Results of a scrap rubber drive
• Organized by the WPB
• Encouraged collection of
waste and scrap goods
for war use
• Materiel included iron,
aluminum, paper
• Waste cooking fats for
making glycerin
Office of War Mobilization
• Created in 1943 by
FDR
• Headed by James
Byrnes
• Became dominant
mobilization agency
• Byrnes worked well
with labor and with
the military
OWM head
James F. Byrnes
The Truman Committee
• Created to expose
waste and fraud in the
defense industry
• Truman personally
inspected factories and
military installations
• Saved taxpayers
millions
Senator Harry S. Truman
War Manpower Commission
• Headed by former IN
governor Paul McNutt
• Balanced the military’s
recruiting needs with
requirements of
agriculture and industry
• Gave deferments to
certain groups
• Oversaw the draft until
1943
WMC head Paul McNutt
Discussion Questions
1. What were the functions of the War Production
Board?
2. What was the Truman Committee? How did its
work contribute to the war effort?
3. What made scrap drives so necessary to the war
effort? What types of materiel did they collect?